The removal of an 80-year-old cedar gate on Rock Island has been halted after public input indicated people wanted the gate saved.

The 80-year-old Thordarson Gate is named for its builder, Chester Thordarson, who owned the majority of Rock Island prior to the department purchasing it from his heirs in 1965. The iconic gate was built as part of a 30-acre-tall fence enclosure to protect Thordarson’s rare plantings from the island’s browsing deer herd.

The Department of Natural Resources announced the rustic gate’s impending removal in a news release Friday. On Tuesday, Randy Holm, the Rock Island ranger and park manager, received an email from his manager halting the gate’s demolition.

Public input played a major role in the DNR’s decision, Holm said.

He fenced off the gate last year when it became apparent that the structure was unstable. He described the base of the cedar logs that make up the structure as being rotted and hollow.

“The reason we were going to take the gate down is safety,” he said.

The fence, which is made up of three cedar trees, is located on a hill north of the island’s ranger station.

“(It’s) probably the second most photographed feature on the island,” he said.

Unfortunately, there is no money in Holm’s park budget to restore the gate.

“If we can restore it, if we can find a way, it will probably be some old parts and some new parts,” he said.

It will be some time before the gate’s final fate is known.

“Until all the partners involved have a chance to talk this through a little bit, I don’t know what is going to happen. But for now it is going to stand,” Holm said.

Contact Samantha Hernandez at svhernande@doorcountyadvocate.com or @svhernandez on Twitter.